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Summary: The Isthmus of Panama: a major physical barrier to gene flow in a
highly mobile pantropical seabird
T. E. STEEVES,* D. J. ANDERSON & V. L. FRIESEN*
*Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
Introduction
The emergence of the Isthmus of Panama approximately
3 million years ago (Coates & Obando, 1996) isolated
Pacific and Atlantic populations of many tropical marine
taxa (e.g. sea urchins Lessios et al., 1999; McCartney
et al., 2000; Lessios et al., 2001; fishes Bowen et al.,
2001; Muss et al., 2001; sea turtles Bowen et al.,
1992,1998). Despite the great dispersal potential of many
seabirds (e.g. Anderson, 1993; Schreiber et al., 2002),
recent phylogeographic studies indicate that the Isthmus
of Panama is also an effective barrier to gene flow in
several pantropical species (i.e. terns Avise et al., 2000;
boobies Steeves et al., 2003). However, the divergence
of extant Pacific and Atlantic populations does not
correspond to the closure of the Panamanian Seaway.
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